The article is an attempt to summarize the problems which come into view when the patriarchs of Israel are studied. More particularly, the attention is focused on the question of whether they are eponyms, legendary figures or historical persons. The narrative of Gen 12–50 was composed in the Persian period, so the distance from the possible time when Abraham, Isaac and Joseph/Israel lived is very long. This problem is connected with the role of archaeology and extra-biblical evidence. Regarding the patriarchs the question is posed whether they in fact “existed”, that is, if they are historical persons or literary imaginations invented by authors of the second part of Genesis.
Chrostowski, W. (2019). The Patriarchs of Israel: eponyms, legendary figures, or historical persons?. Collectanea Theologica, 88(4), 5–33. https://doi.org/10.21697/ct.2018.88.4.01
https://doi.org/10.21697/ct.2018.88.4.01
English
Język Polski